Nailing Down Some Living Room Details

I have a really special art project for you tomorrow, that anyone can do, even without artistic flair. I’m partnering with Cutting Edge Stencils for the project and my kids helped make it.  It’s not perfect, but we love it and can’t wait to show you…tomorrow ;).

2016-05-23_14-51-39

Over the weekend I started using Excel to write up a source list and budget for my living room project and reality hit me full in the face.  I have enough money saved right now to pay my workmen, and not much more.  That means the coffered ceiling and my rug will have to wait. I’m listing some stuff on ebay and craigslist to see if I can earn enough for the wood for the built-ins.

I made a little video for you to show my process of setting a budget for a room:

The lack of cash doesn’t stop me from dreaming though!  I like to have the ideas decided on, so when the cash comes available and the DEALS roll in, I’m prepared to take advantage of them.  There’s nothing worse than a panic of “It’s on sale, but I don’t know which one I want!”  I don’t like to be pressured into a too quick decision on something I might have to live with for years.

I’m looking for a new area rug for the living room since the old one has found a new home in my office. My first area rug was 100% wool.  I chose wool, because it was natural and thick and plush.  Plus my husband’s grandmother bought wool carpet for her home 60 years ago and it still doesn’t have paths worn in it like synthetic carpeting would.  What I didn’t count on, was the SHEDDING.  It’s like we have 5 cats and the fibers make dust bunnies all over the house.  On top of that food coloring is permanent wool dye.  So when the toddler came wandering in the room with an orange popsicle dripping behind him, there wasn’t anything I could do about the stain it left behind.

200ECCR04AI’m shopping for a syntheic rug this time.  I love the bold colors in the Albina Ritzy Retro Rug, but am not sure how long I will love it.  I tend to get tired of bold patterns really quickly, but this one is tempting. It’s on sale for Memoral Day for just $245 for a 9×13.  That’s a really great price for a huge rug.

200GLAR05A

My other favorite is the Aerial Decorative Plumes Rug.  It’s a little pricier at $320 for a 9×12. But the more subdued color pattern might be a longer lasting favorite for me.  There’s not much rug to show in this view of the living room, but here it is with the blue rug:

Living Room with Rug_edited-1

and with the colorful one:

Living Room Battens_colorful rug

I’ll see about making a different view of the room where more of the rug shows.  I don’t think there’s enough here to make a decision about.  BUT I love how the multi-colors work with the books on the shelves.  And I equally love how calm the blue rug is in the room.

shanty sideboard

I found a tutorial at ana-white.com for bulding my built-ins!  The original is 73 inches wide, and I need each of my units to be 48″ wide. I’ll only need to adjust the lengths of the horizonal boards and will use 2 doors instead of 4.  Also, I’ll construct the cabinets as stand alone furniture like the plans suggest, but I’ll wait to add any trim or crown molding until it’s in place in the room.  That way the baseboards and crown for the room can continue seamless around.

shanty sideboard in white

Here’s another version painted white with gray glaze.  I plan to do mine crisp white.

Do you have a preference for which rug I choose?  Is there another Rug that you think might work even better?

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9 thoughts on “Nailing Down Some Living Room Details

  1. Renee says:

    Personally, I like the blue one. It’s more of a classic look for a living room. The other one is more suited to a family room….imho.

  2. Jan says:

    I love the bold one! But I wonder if there isn’t too much energy in the bright and splashy-ness of that rug. Your goal is to make a calm reading, quiet conversation type room…the blue rug is calmer and fits that tome better…in my (sad) humble opinion…

  3. Lisa says:

    I like the colorful rug. But for me, when there are a lot of subdued colors like you have in this room, I love the pop of brightness.

  4. kristy says:

    Love the Blue Rug! I found a great big rug on Craig’s List – maybe check it out daily – or try Pottery Barn Outlet online. Can you do the work yourself so you don’t have to pay someone to do the work?

    • Angela says:

      Kristy, Normally I’d do all the work myself. I will do all the painting, and wood construction myself, but I’m going to have to hire out the electrical, drywall, and flooring. DH knows how, but his back injury won’t let him do it right now. He’s been in therapy for 3 months and it didn’t heal up like we expected, so he’s back to the starting block on what to do about it.

  5. Linda says:

    Blue is my favorite color. I love that blue rug. The bright one is fun but for the long term I would go with the calming blue. If you want a pop of color go with the pillows for it and or the lamp shade. They are so much easier and cheaper to replace when you tire of them. Also I have seen people get bright colored paper and cover some of the books on the shelves for a pop.

    • Angela says:

      Great ideas for color pop! If money were no object (meaning I could change my mind next year and it wouldnt’ be a big deal) I’d do the colorful one for sure. The blue one is really soothing though. I’m looking for other options just in case. I love your book idea.

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